Hands-on with the BlackBerry Tour 9630

The BlackBerry Tour 9630 is coming, and we've gotten our grubby little paws all over it.  Slated for a July 12th release on Verizon  and rumored to hit Sprint a week later, the Tour 9630 will replace the aging Curve 8330 in their lineups (Alltel looks to be getting in on the action as well).  A cross between the Curve 8900 and Bold 9000, the Tour brings the best of both worlds in terms of styling, build quality and form factor.  For the globetrotters it has both a CDMA and quadband GSM radio, though it's not yet clear how you'll be able to use the latter. If the past is any indication, Sprint and Alltel users will be able to pop in a SIM and go, whereas VZW owners will be restricted to the VZW/Vodafone SIM for the first few months of ownership.

The Tour comes with BB OS 4.7, which up until now was reserved for the touchscreen Storm.  There are a few minor visual changes we've noticed so far, but the casual user probably wouldn't notice anything different from 4.6, and if it wasn't for the visual overhaul 4.5 for that matter.  It is very quick and so far we haven't experienced any hangups, but then again there doesn't seem to be anything new or innovative either.  BlackBerry lovers will be enthused, and this may very well be the best BlackBerry to date, but just how much is this different from its predecessors?  Stay tuned for our full review soon!

RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 Specifications

Six-month unlimited plan is now 57% off

$90

$210

$120 off (57%)

Mint Mobile is now allowing you to get whichever plan you like for either three, six, or 12 months for just $15/mo. If you go for the six-month unlimited service, for instance, you'll now have to pay just $90 upfront instead of $210.

Buy at Mint Mobile